Knight Rider AS S01E14 - Hot Summer Knights
by LyndaBehling
Summary: (TWO HOUR SPECIAL) - It's vacation time for FLAG. Sun, sand, blue skies ahead! Unfortunately, nothing is ever as it seems as a spy has infiltrated deep into the group. Will Kat come any closer to discovering the spy's identity?
1. Chapter 1

KR2K8AS Episode 14

Episode 14 - Hot Summer Knights

K.I.T.T sped down a dark, deserted highway. His tires running over the asphalt the only sound. The moon was full and bright overhead, lighting his way to the horizon. Liquid moonlight ran over his sleek, black surface. His windows were tinted black, showing nothing of the interior.

Inside, the front seats were empty, the steering wheel adjusting back and forth on it's own. The soft sound of waves lapping over a sandy beach drifted from the stereo and filled the cabin.

In the back, a dim light shone from the ceiling, illuminating a sleeping Kat curled up in the backseat, covered with a dark gray fleece blanket. Her loose, dark hair was her only pillow.

K.I.T.T had been driving for most of the night, safeguarding his Driver as comfortably as he could. It had been a long day in a string of long days. Since the Crawler had been activated, they had been so busy they were on the road more often than not. Kat refused to overlook anyone who might need their help. K.I.T.T knew that while their intentions were altruistic, every bit of data from each mission was sent back to F.L.A.G and carefully examined. That data was then used to fuel Knight Industries research.

It was long, dangerous, and sometimes thankless work, but now it was time to return to F.L.A.G for a rest. He would be examined thoroughly as he had not had a tuneup in a while. Carmen would give him another coat of his nano skin paint. Pierce would backup his memory and probably defrag his hard drives. Kat would rest in her bunk, and possibly 'hang out' with Angela, which mostly consisted of Kat letting Angela dress her up. If K.I.T.T was really lucky, he would have time to play some games with Ian before they were sent out again.

K.I.T.T's random musings were interrupted by a communication link from Pierce. He found that odd, it was the middle of the night and Pierce liked his sleep. It was probably something important, so he opened the link. As soon as his did so, the link disappeared. That was very odd. He tried contacting Pierce.

There was no reply. This was vexing, like the equivalent of a prankster ringing a doorbell, then running off. He decided to call Pierce's cell phone.

It rang many times before it was finally picked up. "Un ugh?" Pierce mumbled sleepily.

"My apologies Pierce, did I wake you?"

"'Course not, who needs sleep?" K.I.T.T heard a shuffling against the phones microphone, probably as Pierce shifted around on his pillow. This was followed by a loud yawn. "What's up, KITT? It's... 3 in the morning."

"I just received a communication link from you a moment ago." K.I.T.T told him. "When I answered, there was no reply."

"You must be mistaken." Pierce mumbled. "I clocked out at 10:59. David doesn't let me work past 11 anymore."

"I am never mistaken." K.I.T.T replied. "It was from you."

"Not unless I can type in my sleep." Pierce paused. "Even I'm not that good."

"It was from you." K.I.T.T repeated stubbornly.

"Okay, okay." Pierce yawned again. "I'll check it out in the morning, all right?"

"All right."

"Good, now don't bother me about this anymore." Pierce's voice grew faint with sleep.

"I won't." K.I.T.T replied.

"G'night, KITT." Then he hung up, and K.I.T.T was left with his musings.

**F****.****L****.****A****.****G****Underground****Facility**

It was early the next morning when everyone in F.L.A.G was awakened for an important announcement from David. Ian was out of bed and dressed right away. Pierce lagged behind, sleepiness wrapped like a fog around him. He made a side trip to the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee before heading to the Main Lab.

Once everyone was assembled in the Main Lab, David made his appearance. He stepped out of his office holding a piece of paper in his hand. He looked as crisp and neat as he always did. Pierce wondered if the man even needed to sleep, or if he just powered down at night. As he sipped his coffee he imagined David curling up under his desk after lights out.

David placed on hand on the metal railing and looked down on the Main Lab. He held up the piece of paper in his hand. His expression was not a happy one, but that was par for the course. Everyone waited with bated breath. Even Charles was leaning on the railing outside of his office, his full attention on David.

"I have here a fax from the CEO of Knight Industries, Andrew Corwin." David said, his dark eyes traveling over each of his employees. "The only man who has more authority over your lives than I do." Charles smiled faintly at that.

Down in the Main Lab, everyone started looking at each other. A general feeling of dread blanketed the crowd. Pierce glanced over at Carmen, she had her arms crossed and he could tell she was working up a good glare in case she needed it.

Everyone's attention turned back to David as he began to read aloud. "Dear FLAG employees, some time ago, your Katherine Knight saved not only my life, but the future of Knight Industries. Since then, I have been trying to think of the right way to thank her. Summer time is quickly approaching and Dr. Graiman has informed me through his weekly reports that Miss Knight has not had any vacation time, or even had any time away from her work. I aim to remedy that now by inviting Katherine to stay at my summer home for two weeks, as my family and I will be going overseas this summer."

Everyone down in the Main Lab began whispering to one another. David paused his reading to look at them. Silence fell, and he continued. "I also know that my rescue was a team effort, and had it not been for the many fine men and women at FLAG, Miss Knight would be completely in the dark, so I also extend this invitation to all of you."

Excited chatter sprang up out of the Main Lab, accompanied by a few cheers. Not even David glaring down at them all could stop it.

"This is sooo awesome." Ian said excitedly. "I haven't been outside in over a month! I think I've forgotten what unfiltered air smells like!"

Pierce wasn't as thrilled. In his mind he was calculating how much of his work he could bring with him while he blistered in the sun. At least he knew that Andrew Corwin would have WiFi. Well, he hoped it at the very least.

Better yet, maybe he would be able to not go at all. There was no way F.L.A.G could be completely emptied out for two whole weeks.

"Obviously," David said as he folded the paper neatly. His voice carried over the crowd and everyone hushed. "FLAG can't be emptied out for two whole weeks." Some people groaned at that, Ian included. "Instead, the Team will be split in half. One half will accompany me for the first week, the other half will accompany Charles for the second week. Katherine will, of course, be staying at the summer home for the full two weeks."

Katherine? Pierce's interest peaked. He had always thought it odd that David called Kat Miss Knight, rather than Katherine, when he was the one who introduced everyone to using the more familiar given name. It was to promote friendship and equal understanding among a group of people who would be unable to get away from each other for four years. Now, David had switched, that was even odder.

Pierce recalled a few weeks ago there was a mission in which David and Kat left at separate times, but ended up on the same mission, and came back to F.L.A.G together. David had been positively fuming, and wouldn't talk about what happened. Pierce had hoped it was something truly embarrassing, but Kat didn't give any details either. K.I.T.T had been forbidden from talking about it at all by the both of them. Any attempts to question the car was met with a denial that day had existed at all.

Pierce's musing were interrupted by Ian approaching him. "How come Katherine gets both weeks and we don't?" He sulked.

Carmen walked over and slapped the back of his head lightly. "Your idea of time off is playing videos games in the rec room. Katherine's is sleeping in KITT's backseat."

"Okay, okay." Ian said quickly. "I see your point. Just let me gripe a little, it makes me feel better."

Carmen smiled. "It'll be good to get out and soak up some sun, I'll be as white as Pierce soon."

"Oh, ha ha." Pierce said humorlessly. "I'm going to go pack."

Ian and Carmen watched him go. "He's going to hate being away from work." Ian commented glumly.

"He's not going to pack clothes." Carmen said knowingly. "He's going to go see if a server will fit in a suitcase." Ian laughed.

"What is with all this commotion going on here?" Kat asked as soon as she stepped into the buzzing rec room.

"Oh my god, Kat!" Angela exclaimed, hurriedly running up to greet her. "You are not going to believe this!"

Everyone in the rec room immediately began talking at once. Kat tried to follow what they were all saying, but wasn't able to until K.I.T.T broke down all of the different voices for her.

"Wow..." she said, her eyes a little wide. "Two whole weeks, just for me?"

"Isn't it awesome?" Angela squealed excitedly. "I finally get to put you in a swimsuit."

Kat rubbed her upper arm nervously. "What am I going to do with myself for that long?"

"That's obvious, relax."

"Idleness isn't really my thing..." Kat blinked rapidly. "And what about KITT? He'll get lonely."

"I will not." K.I.T.T said in her ear defensively. "I'm not so pathetic as to utterly break down if I am parted from you for a paltry twenty thousand, one hundred and sixty minutes."

Angela put a finger to her lip thoughtfully. "You have a point. KITT can't stand being away from you. Remember how long it took you to convince him not to spy on you in the bathroom?"

"I was not spying." K.I.T.T said. "You have such a penchant for attracting danger everywhere you go that I was merely being cautious."

"Maybe we can ask David?" Kat suggested hopefully.

"Fine, don't listen to anything I say." K.I.T.T said grumpily, then fell silent.

"Ooo, great idea! Let's go, I know where he is." Angela grabbed Kat's hand and the two women exited the rec room.

They found David on his way to Charles' office, a sheet of paper in his hand. "David." Angela called to him.

Without turning around or slowing his walk, he responded. "You can't bring the car."

"Come on, that's not fair."

This made David pause and turn on his heel. "Fair?" he asked, arching an eyebrow. "Whom am I being unfair to?"

"Kat, duh." Angela answered, gesturing to her.

The dark expression on David's face was making Kat very uncomfortable. She put a hand on Angela's shoulder to lead her away, but the other woman wasn't budging. "So, you are saying that I am the one whom is being unfair to let Katherine joyride on the beach with a billion dollar piece of military-grade technology?"

Angela didn't have an easy comeback for that, so Kat stepped in. "Actually, I honestly feel that a long separation from KITT will affect him more than me. He's programmed with a certain level of attachment to his Driver. My main concern is his AI suffering from conflicting programming."

"That's not a problem." David said. "I'll have Charles do a partial shutdown, he won't even know you're gone."

Kat's misgivings grew, but could she really argue? She was still in hot water from her last mission, where she ran into David during a particularly strange jewel heist. Ever since then, David showed annoyance whenever she so much as moved.

Still, it seemed like a sad thing to do to K.I.T.T.

David entered Charles' office, paper in hand. He shut the door firmly behind him and marched over to Charles' desk.

Charles looked up from his computer, his glasses reflecting white from the screen. He leaned back in his chair and observed David's stiff posture and sour expression. "Come right in." Charles said blithely. "I wasn't in the middle of anything important."

David looked back at the door, realizing just then that he hadn't knocked. His expression intensified for a second and turned back to Charles. "My apologies, but it's time to go over the list."

"Ah, now we decide who goes when. Who should I be taking on the second week?"

David placed the rough draft of his list on the desk, turning it so that Charles could read it. "I've decided to take the main troublemakers. I don't feel right letting them out of my sight."

"Pierce, Angela, Carmen & Diana." Charles read the names. "Diana really only causes trouble to you. Perhaps I should take her on my week."

"No, the Medical Team is divided unevenly, we may need her expertise in case of injury."

Charles looked at David over his glasses. "Diana does Forensics. She's only ever worked on cadavers."

"She has a medical background, she was going to be a pediatrician before the accident." David picked up his list again and perused it. "The Security Team is divided unevenly as well, so take John and Casey with you. They have the demeanor to fool the casual eye."

"That leaves you with Kevin."

"You can have Ian. I don't want Pierce conspiring with him."

"Shall we split the twins?" Charles asked, speaking of Kai and Rei.

"No, you can take them both. I'll have Carmen and Thomas, so you take Enrique and Adam."

"KITT will be staying here, so why split the Mechanics Team evenly?"

"Just in case." David said ominously.

After a few more minutes, the final list was thus:

David- Carmen(Head Mechanic), Pierce(Head Computer Tech), Angela(Disguise and Costume Artist), Diana(Head of Forensics), Kevin(Head Custodian), Dustin(Head Medic), Keth(Security Team), Jason(Head of Security), Thomas(Mechanic)

Charles- Kai & Rei(Computer Team), Ian(Tech Intern), Eric(Medic), Sarah(Medic), John(Custodial), Casey(Custodial), Amanda(Security Team), Enrique(Assistant Head Mechanic), Adam(Mechanic)

"You're in for an interesting week." Charles commented. David resisted the urge to sigh.

Angela and Kat entered their room together. "God, what am I going to PACK?" Angela exclaimed, heading immediately for her dresser.

Kat's attention was on the floor. More specifically a small slip of paper on the floor next to the door. Someone must have slipped it underneath while they were gone.

She bent down and picked it up. In neat script a short note was written. "There is a spy in F.L.A.G."

Her stomach went cold and immediately tightened. K.I.T.T scanned the text quickly. "The handwriting doesn't match any that I have seen." He reported. "Shall I alert David?"

"No." Kat said softly. "It could be a prank."

"Who would want to trick you?"

"I don't know. Just in case, be careful."

"Are you going to stand there mumbling, or are you going to help me?" Angela called to her. She was standing in the middle of the remains of a clothing typhoon, some swimsuits had even made it up to Kat's bunk.

Kat crumpled up the note, tossing it in the garbage can as she walked over to Angela to help.


	2. Chapter 2

KRAS2K8 Episode 14 - Hot Summer Knights - Part 2

**F****.****L****.****A****.****G****Underground****Facility**

"The threat of a spy is not something to be ignored." K.I.T.T's voice was edging into desperation. "You should show the paper to David."

"And I already told you to keep quiet about it. I'm not bothering David with this. I don't need him blowing up at me as it is." Kat rummaged through the vault sized fridge and pulled out the components of a ham on rye.

"You're letting your emotions get in the way of your job." K.I.T.T said sternly. This made Kat pause. She stared at the jar of mustard she had just opened. "At least show it to Charles." The car's tone turned gentler.

"Fine." Kat grumped. She wrapped her sandwich with a paper towel and headed back to her room.

When she entered, Angela was perched on her suitcase, desperately trying to force it closed. "Help me please." she pleaded.

Together, they managed to zip it closed. Angela wiped her brow and sighed in relief. "Do you really need that many clothes?" Kat asked. "The beach will be warm, right?"

"Half of the stuff in there is for you." She beamed at Kat. "We're going to have so much fun."

"Right." Kat said slowly. "If you'll excuse me." She went over to the garbage can by the door, but found it empty. "What happened to the garbage?"

"Casey came by and took it, not two seconds before you came in."

"Dammit." Kat exited the room and sprinted down the hall. She reached the end and looked both ways. She spotted Casey pushing a large garbage can down at the end of the hallway and continued her sprint. "Casey!" she called. "Wait up!"

He turned. "Hey, what's up?" he asked.

Casey was an older man, tall and very thin, with sunken cheeks and scraggly black hair. He had a smoking habit as well, and always smelled faintly of tobacco.

"I threw something away by accident."

"Well, you're welcome to fish it out." he gestured into the big plastic can. "Though I did just send a bag to the incinerator."

"Dammit..." Kat groaned. "Thanks anyway."

"I can send a copy of the note to Charles in an email attachment." K.I.T.T offered. "Though a copy cannot be tested for fingerprints or chemically analyzed, perhaps he will recognize the handwriting."

Kat turned away from Casey and trudged back to her room. "Yeah, go ahead and do that."

K.I.T.T sat on his circular platform, absorbing the utter quiet that had fallen over the entire facility. It was night now and everyone wanted to make sure they got enough rest for all the relaxing they would be doing the next day.

K.I.T.T would have to get used to this silence. Even though only half of the Team was leaving at a time, there wouldn't be any work to do. There would be no reason to be in the Main Lab.

There was also the partial shutdown, so in the end, he wouldn't notice the quiet.

There was one light on, up along the walkway. David's Office, of course. David was more of a workaholic than even Pierce. K.I.T.T was genuinely surprised that two men who were so much alike didn't get along better. Then again, that could be why they didn't get along.

The light went out as David exited his office. His footsteps echoed hollowly on the metal walkway. He made his way down the stairs and walked over to K.I.T.T.

The red light on K.I.T.T's scan bar pulsed pensively. "You've come to put me to sleep?"

"You sound like a dog in a kennel." David remarked. "But that is not why I am here. You sent Charles an email recently."

"Today I've sent Charles three emails." K.I.T.T confirmed.

"I'm talking about this one." David pulled out his Blackberry, on the screen was the picture of the note K.I.T.T had taken. "Why did you go through Charles? I'm the head of Human Resources."

"It was Kat's order to send the picture to Charles." K.I.T.T asserted blandly. "As per my suggestion."

David put the phone away. "And why did Katherine not have you send the picture to me? Does she suspect me?"

"Suspect you of what?" K.I.T.T asked. He couldn't help but feel surprised, none of his algorithms had predicted this response.

"Of being the spy." David's voice was stressed. He was speaking as though what he was saying was obvious, but K.I.T.T found it baffling.

"Kat does not suspect anyone of being a spy." K.I.T.T stated.

"Then why didn't she come to me with this?" David's frame was tensed, K.I.T.T could see the man was becoming frustrated, but didn't want to show it in front of the machine.

"Perhaps she feared an unfair reprimand. You have called her out on several occasions recently. Why risk your ire again over something so obviously a prank?"

"You really think this is just a prank?"

"My Driver does, so I do as well."

David pulled out his Blackberry and dialed a number quickly. "Carmen, come down to the Main Lab. I need you to do a body change to the Three Thousand before we leave in the morning."

K.I.T.T could detect mild swearing in Spanish coming from the Blackberry. He hung up and pocketed his phone. "Where is the original note now?"

"Destroyed. Kat threw it away."

David's eyes narrowed. "Of course she did." He turned away and headed for the stairs.

"I have a question." K.I.T.T called after him. He paused and looked back at the car. "Why is Carmen doing a body change now?"

"You're current body isn't suited for sandy areas."

"That doesn't answer my question."

He sighed. "Because you're going with us tomorrow." And with that, he hurried up the stairs.

As David left through the upper floor, Carmen entered through the lower. She was mumbling to herself in a mixture of Spanish and English. Her hair was pulled back and she wore a dark pair of men's pyjamas. A pair of pink bunny slippers adorned her feet.

"Those are very nice slippers." K.I.T.T complimented her.

"I don't want to hear a word from you." She told him, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

She marchede over to her workstation and retrieved a tool belt, then she headed over to the Vault in the back that stored K.I.T.T's spare parts. The Vault slid open silently and Carmen vanished inside.

K.I.T.T sat on his platform for a moment, processing what had just transpired. "Yay." he said in a small voice.

"Not one word!" Carmen called from the Vault. K.I.T.T rolled off of his platform and drove quietly into the Vault to be changed.

**En****Route****to****Andrew****Corwin****'****s****Summer****Home****, ****The****Hamptons****, ****New****York**

"KITT, I must say, you make an awesome S.U.V." Angela said cheerfully from the back seat. The sunroof and all of the windows were open and Angela seemed to be trying to soak up as much sunshine as she could.

"I appreciate your enthusiasm, Angela, but you really must thank Carmen, who took the time to put me together last night."

Angela looked next to here, where Carmen was sleeping, one arm propped up on the armrest. "I'll tell her when she wakes up."

"Ask Diana if she's having a good time." Kat said. Diana was sitting in the front passenger seat, but she was staring out the window. Since Kat was driving, she couldn't get the deaf woman's attention.

K.I.T.T flashed some quick signs on the passenger window and Diana sat up straight in surprise. She turned to Kat. "This is very nice, thank you." she said politely in her somewhat hollow voice. "I would have sat in the van, though."

A black van containing the rest of the Team was following behind K.I.T.T. Pierce was driving so that David could keep an eye on everyone.

Angela leaned forward and tapped on Diana's shoulder. When she turned, Angela said very clearly "It's more fun with all the girls together." and smiled brightly.

Diana let her straight, dark red hair shadow her face. "I guess so." She turned back to the dash. "Although, KITT is not a girl."

"My one glaring flaw. My apologies." K.I.T.T said, while also flashing the appropriate signs on the windshield. The three awake girls laughed. Carmen mumbled in her sleep, but didn't stir.

They arrived at the summer home in no time. Carmen was awake by then and the girls all stared out of the windows at the house. "I thought having half to Team all in one house was going to be troublesome." Diana remarked softly.

"Apparently not!" Angela exclaimed. "We are so going to get lost in there."

"This is a summer home?" Carmen asked. "I'd settle for this as my only home!"

The house sat far back from the street, hidden from view by a tall hedge wall. The gate opened for K.I.T.T and the van and it was still a minute's drive before they reached one of the garages.

"This is the guest garage." K.I.T.T explained. "The other one is for Andrew Corwin's personal use. According to the media, he collects many old and famous cars."

"I wonder if he'll show us his collection." Carmen asked, her eyes wide.

"I don't think he's here. He sent David the keys." Angela said. Carmen's face fell. "Maybe we can sneak a look later on."

"Maybe..."

K.I.T.T opened all of his doors and popped the trunk graciously. The males piled out of the van. Kat shouldered her bag and looked up at the three story structure.

It was of classic villa design, pale stucco walls and a terracotta roof. There were many wide windows and even a few balconies.

"I'm going to be so bored here, KITT." Kat said helplessly.

"Nonsense, the likelihood of an incident happening is extremely high."

"What kind of incident?"

"The interesting kind."

"Well, we seem to run into more than our fair share of those."

David moved to the head of the group, unlocking the front double doors. They were intimidatingly large, made from carved black wood.

Everyone was dressed casually, even David this time, though not by much. He had exchanged his usual suit and tie for a pair of black slacks and a pale blue, button down shirt. Pierce was wearing a white T-shirt and absurdly colored shorts.

Carmen, Angela, and Kat were all wearing T-shirts and shorts. Diana was wearing denim shorts and a dark red, sleeveless turtleneck. Strangely, she also wore her usual lab coat. Angela had on a huge pair of sunglasses and Carmen's shorts were just cutoff jeans.

"Man, Ian must be so mad I got all the cute ones." Pierce said appreciatively.

"Shut your face, Pierce."

"No one's talking to you, Carmen."

Dustin walked over, the aged black doctor wore a pair of long shorts and a T-shirt. "Let's get inside, everyone, and properly sunscreened, before we all pass out from heatstroke."

"Goodbye sun, I'll miss you." Angela said sadly as they all filed into the house.

"The staff are all on vacation elsewhere." David said over everyone.

"That means we get the place all to ourselves." Pierce cut in.

"What that means," David gave Pierce a sideways glance. "is that everyone is responsible for cleaning up after themselves."

Pierce cupped his hands around his mouth. "No running by the pool, no eating the sand, and make sure you come home before it gets dark." He grinned at David, who glared back.

"Before everyone wanders off, please divvy up the five bedrooms and unpack. I don't want any disputes later on about the rooms."

"Yes, David." Angela said sullenly as everyone headed for the second floor.

David walked beside Kat. "Yours is on the third floor." he told her. "I'll show you."

"I get my own room?" she asked in surprise, noticing that no one else was heading up to the third floor.

"Sort of, Corwin is letting you use his wife's room."

"I didn't know he was married."

"He's not, anymore. He's a widower." David pulled out his keys again and unlocked the first door by the stairs. He held it open for Kat.

Kat's eyes widened when she entered the room. She was immediately greeted by the sun streaming into the room from the balcony. The carpet was grass green and shone under the strong light. The walls were a rich honey-colored wood, and the bed was a four poster.

"I can't stay here." she said, a little breathlessly.

"He said no one's stayed in this room for a long time." David said from the doorway. His voice sounded a little awkward, as if he really didn't want to be there, saying such sappy things. "He just wants the room to be lived in again, for a little while."

Kat spied an open door leading to a pink marble bath, and another door on the opposite side of the room. She tried the door and found it locked. "What's this, a closet?"

"Actually it leads to Corwin's room, the Master Bedroom is split in two."

"You'll be staying in there?" she guessed. She couldn't imagine anyone downstairs wanting to share a room with David.

He hesitated. "Officially, yes. Don't worry, I don't have the key to that door. The rooms share a balcony, but you can lock the french windows."

Kat laughed. "I'm not afraid you're going to sneak in during the night, David."

"I wasn't talking about me." he said. "I won't be spending much time up here, so someone else could try to slip in from the other room."

"What? Like a ninja assassin?"

"You do remember I was captured not that long ago, right, and held for three days?"

Kat instantly felt bad. She couldn't look at David, so she turned her eyes to the carpet. "Yes." That capture had led to K.I.T.T being kidnapped.

"Then you know that there are those out there that are targeting FLAG." David's voice was stern.

"I'm sorry." she said softly.

"Don't apologize, just be careful."

Kat looked up just as the door closed. David was gone. She smiled weakly, though her eyes were still sad. She turned away from the door and walked out onto the balcony, stretching her arms out in the warmth.

The balcony overlooked the back of the house and she had an excellent view of the pool and a very large garden. The smell of green, alive things, mixed with the smell of the ocean filled her up. She was finally starting to feel peaceful.

"I wonder if David picked up on the fact that you didn't say you 'thought' he would sneak into your room, but that you weren't 'afraid' that he would." K.I.T.T mused in her ear.

"KITT?"

"Yes?"

"Shut up and let me enjoy my freedom." Kat said cheerfully.

"Yes Ma'am."


	3. Chapter 3

Andrew Corwin's Summer Cottage

Pierce needed to find David right away. There was something very, very wrong going on in this house.

It wasn't the wi-fi connection. Corwin had a top dollar fiber optics connection that almost rivaled F.L.A.G's. No, it definitely wasn't the connection speed.

Pierce marched up and down the halls, ducking into rooms only briefly, just to make sure David wasn't in any of them.

The problem wasn't with the F.L.A.G database. He called Charles twice and he confirmed that all servers would functioning normally.

He found Carmen in the first floor living room. It was huge, with two couches and three TVs. The entire back wall was glass, showing off the deck and pool on the other side.

Carmen was sitting on one of the couches, lazily reading one of her gear-head magazines. Pierce passed her, checking the bar area, the kitchen, and even looking out onto the deck. Still he could not find David.

"Can't you just sit down and relax for once?" Carmen asked irritably. "All your running around is ruining my reading, and my vacation."

"David's gone missing," Pierce snapped. "Bastard probably got himself kidnapped again just to spite me."

Carmen rolled her eyes behind her magazine. "He's not kidnapped. He just stepped out for a bit."

"David doesn't trust us with sharp utensils, he's not going to 'step out for a bit' and leave us all to our own devices," Pierce groused.

"He put me in charge." She flipped a page lazily.

"Now I know you're lying." He pulled out his cellphone, dialing David's number for the umpteenth time.

She lowered her magazine slowly, fixing her dark chocolate eyes on Pierce. "You calling me a liar?"

He was unaware of the sudden danger. "I'm just pointing out that there's no way David would put you in charge. So... yes, yes I am." He pocketed his cellphone. "Dammit, he's still not picking up."

"You don' think I could be in charge, for even a li'l while?" Carmen's voice was heating up, her accent becoming more pronounced.

"All I said was that David wouldn't put you in charge." He was starting to notice something was amiss, but couldn't put his finger on what. "Considering you have the most H.R write-ups out of all of us. Combined." Blindly, he continued digging himself deeper. "So, unless you're sleeping with him or something..."

Carmen's tan skin turned even darker. She sprang up from the couch, rolling up her magazine. "Oh, that's it!"

Pierce's instincts were largely unused, as he spent most of his time in front of the computer, writing code or doing system maintenance. Mostly just sitting down. Still, there was a small primal part of him, deep inside, atrophied from lack of use. It activated now, allowing him to dodge the first blow.

Carmen's instincts, on the other hand, were very much intact, and her job demanded that she be both strong and fast. So, she got in the next three hits after missing the first one.

"Okay, I give!" Pierce shouted, covering his head with both arms. "I was joking, you don't have to kill me because of a joke." She stopped hitting him, glaring at him sharply. "Geez, are you really sleeping with him? I was only kidding."

Her face became even more flushed and she raised the magazine up again. "She's not sleeping with anyone," David's voice came from off to the side. "I would know if she was."

"David, thank god! Save me!" Pierce pleaded.

Carmen lowered the magazine and Pierce snatched it from her. They both turned to David, who was standing in the living room, carrying a suitcase and a shoulder bag. He looked at them, his expression not showing even the least bit of curiosity as to what was going on.

"Well?" Pierce snapped. "Where the hell were you?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but I had to pick up a few things," David said simply.

Pierce looked utterly confused. "Pick up a few- What? And where?"

"I have a house not too far from here. It's the only place I keep casual clothes. Do you expect me to continue wearing black pants in this sweltering heat?"

Pierce was a little taken aback. "Well, no, I guess not. I didn't think you owned anything other than suits, much less that you had a house nearby." He started to get angry again. "Besides, you can't just go off on your own without telling anyone! What if something had happened?"

"I was only gone a half an hour. I left Carmen in charge."

Pierce didn't have an answer to that. He shut his mouth and seethed quietly. Carmen's expression was smug. "I guess he just missed you David, you can't blame him for that."

"I'm sorry Pierce, I have a personal rule about relationships with members of my staff." Pierce was absolutely sure that David was joking with him, but his expression was so gravely serious...

He turned to Carmen, who continued to look up at him smugly. He shoved her magazine into her chest. "You're all against me, aren't you?" he asked with narrowed eyes.

She reached up and tweaked his nose. "Only cause it works so well. Now, what did you want to talk to David about?"

He then remembered his original reason for seeking David out. "I can't log into the F.L.A.G Database. The system keeps rejecting me."

"I know." David adjusted the strap on his shoulder and started to head for the stairs.

"You know? Did you do this?" Pierce asked, following him.

"Of course I did. You're on vacation, you're not supposed to be working."

"I have some extremely time sensitive materials on the F.L.A.G server." Pierce's voice was heating up again. "I need to log in! You can't do this to me! You can't force me to take a vacation!"

Carmen lost interest in the conversation. As the two men headed upstairs, she plopped back down onto the couch, unrolling her magazine. She looked over some of the cars showcased inside and shook her head. "Such beautiful machines, but none of you hold a candle to my KITT."

"Oh, is David making you a Driver now?" K.I.T.T's voice came from right behind her.

Carmen jumped and turned around, clutching her magazine to her chest. When she saw who it was, she immediately calmed down. "Jesus, Kevin, don't sneak up on people like that! I thought KITT managed to get in the house."

Kevin smiled at her cheerfully. "Glad to see I'm still ninja. What was all that hullabaloo just now?"

"Pierce was being Pierce," Carmen said, opening up her magazine again. "That man needs to lay off the energy drinks."

"Oh? I thought his exuberance was what attracted you to him in the first place," Kevin said playfully.

Carmen flushed again and buried her nose deeper into the magazine. "Geez, is there any secret in FLAG you don't know?"

"Oh, I only know the obvious ones." He flashed her a pearly white grin. "For instance, I didn't know David had a house around here."

"Yeah, that surprised me too. It might be his only one, since Karen got the brownstone in the city when they split up." Karen was David's ex-wife and mother of his son, Alex. She was also a member of the F.B.I, and had worked on the K.I.T.T project during its infancy.

"I'm sure he'll get by somehow."

"Speaking of secrets, when are you going to tell Katherine that you've been pining after her?"

"'Pining' is such a strong word," he replied. "I like to think of it as 'adoring her silently from afar'."

"Uh huh. Well, if you're going to make a move, you'd better do it soon. Kat's going to be in one place for a whole two weeks, and that's rare."

"Perhaps..." Kevin mused. "But really, wouldn't the best thing I could do for be to let her relax?"

"Pffft. Kat could use some excitement." Carmen paused. "Of the non-life-threatening variety."

"Well, I'm going out for a smoke," Kevin decided then. "See you later."

"Those things will kill you," she called after him.

"They won't have a chance to if I start dating Kat," he replied before opening the front door.

"I wonder if I could convince David to hire a therapist for the Team..." Carmen mused to herself.

xxxXXXxxx

K.I.T.T sat in the garage with only the van for company. It was dark and quiet, but he didn't really mind. While his programming had evolved since the time he was spread out over a dozen computers in Charles' workroom, he still hadn't acquired human levels of impatience, longing, or loneliness.

Evolving didn't have to mean becoming more human, of course, that was just the standard the Team held him to. Right now, he was just content to be near Kat. She had a knack for getting in trouble that a person chased by black cats, running under ladders, while holding two open umbrellas couldn't achieve.

She had gone to bed early, tired after a full day of driving, and now he had some time to himself. Andrew Corwin's security system was connected to the wireless Internet connection, probably so he could monitor it from his phone or computer during the months he wasn't staying at the summer home. This meant that K.I.T.T could patch right into it with a little coercing.

Security cameras were set up at various points on the grounds outside the house, but very few were indoors, and then only on the first floor. This was vexing. How was he supposed to watch Kat while she slept? The one objective that was programmed over and over in his code was the safety of his driver. He'd already lost one, he couldn't afford to be too cautious.

He would just have to work with what he had. The perimeter of the house was secure, and there were cameras placed on the backyard patio as well.

"Hey KITT..." Kat said sleepily.

"You're awake."

"Sorta, I'm trying to sleep but something's on my mind."

"I'm all ears."

"You don't even have ears..." she mumbled.

"That is beside the point. What are you wondering about?"

"When our five years are up with FLAG, do you think David would let me keep you?"

"I calculate that the chance of that is about as likely as David letting me keep you."

"What do you think will happen to you then? Storage?"

"In my entirety, I am an amalgamation of the various technologies that Knight Industries are currently developing for it's commercial and military contracts. Most likely I will be split up and distributed among those groups for analysis and further testing."

"Really? That sounds so sad."

"Is it? That is what I was built for."

"It's sad for me. I'll miss you."

K.I.T.T processed that for a brief second. "I think that I will miss you too," he replied. "Unless they wipe my memory, that is."

"Ugh, you don't sound sad at all."

"That's because I don't feel sadness."

"I'm going back to sleep," Kat grumbled.

"Good night," K.I.T.T said blithely.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The next morning Angela sailed into Kat's room without knocking. "Time to get up!" she trumpeted. "You don't want to miss all the fun!"

"I'm supposed to be relaxing..." Kat mumbled into her pillow. Her bedding was strewn all about and her hair was a mess.

"Whoa." Angela took in her state. "You either had a rough night or a really interesting one." She looked around, as if searching for another occupant.

"What do you mean?" Kat asked as she sat up groggily. Her tangled hair stuck out at odd angles. "This is how I normally sleep..."

Angela shook her head. "Not back at FLAG you don't."

"Correction, this is how I normally sleep when I actually have enough room to move around."

"Uh huh. Well come on. Breakfast is starting. You don't want to miss it."

Kat scratched her shoulder. "Who's cooking?"

"Carmen."

"I'm getting up." She dragged herself out of bed and pulled a large T-shirt over her tank top and shorts. "All right, let's go."

Angela tsked at her disapprovingly. "At least put on something clean..."

"After breakfast. Then you can dress me however you like."

"I will take that deal."

xxxXXXxxx

The Team sat in the kitchen, most likely to be closer to where Carmen was cooking. They sat around the massive table, all talking at once. Even David was seated, though he was looking at his phone. The seats on both sides of him were empty.

Kat plopped down into a chair next to him. "Why are you working? Isn't this supposed to be a vacation?" she asked him, arching a brow.

He didn't bother looking up. "For you, yes." He tapped at his screen with his thumb.

Kat grabbed a piece of toast from the center of the table and nibbled on it. "I thought Corlan was thanking the entire Team."

"That was the idea." Carmen put a plate in front of him and he didn't even lift his head.

"Well, you're part of the Team too, and without you Corlan would have been dead even before KITT and I got there," she pointed out.

"Are you approaching anywhere near a point?" he asked heatedly. The conversation from the other Team members was quieting as they watched the exchange.

"Yeah, I am." Kat gave him a stern look. She leaned her elbow on the table and gestured with her piece of toast. "If you're not letting Pierce work, then you shouldn't be working either."

Across the table Pierce's eyebrows shot up. "Katherine, that is a very good point," he told her.

Kat didn't take her eyes off of David. Finally he looked at her, then bit back a sigh. He put his phone in his pocket. "There. Happy now?" He glowered at her.

The rest of the Team was silent now, and a lot of eyebrows were raised.

Kat stared at David calmly, without blinking. She took a large bite of her toast. The sound was loud in the stillness. She pointed at his plate with her pinky. "Carmen just served you your breakfast. It's getting cold."

David's frown deepened, but he picked up his fork off the table and stabbed his eggs forcefully. Once he started eating, Kat looked away.

Pierce leaned both of his elbows on the table and leaned towards Kat. He lowered his voice, but it could still be heard clearly. "Katherine, please tell me how you're doing that."

Carmen set a plate in front of her and she happily dug in. "The trick is to keep calm and don't break eye contact. He can smell fear."

David's mouth was full of eggs, so he just rolled his eyes. Pierce, on the other hand, looked deeply absorbed.

Meanwhile Kevin was polishing off his own breakfast. He picked up his empty plate and carried it to the sink to wash it. "Oo, here, take this too." Angela held out a dirty bowl to him.

He looked at her and arched one orange eyebrow. "Nuh uh," he told her. "This is my vacation too. You slobs can clean up after yourselves for a week."

Angela pouted at him. "Not even if I say 'pretty please'?"

He placed his plate on the drain board, then cut the tap and shook the water off his hands. "The most brilliant mechanics, coders, doctors, whatever it is that Diana does, in the entire world all under one roof," he said grandly. "And you all would be living in your own filth if it weren't for me." He shook a finger at the group. "You wouldn't get a single thing accomplished if I didn't keep the lights running, and the AC going, and the kitchen stocked." He kept count on his fingers while he talked. Then he pointed towards the garage. "That fancy car out there would be a three ton brick on wheels. Even worse, you could have given it David's voice instead of mine."

Angela's pout deepened. The hand holding out the bowl drooped. "So that's a 'no'?" Kat hid her mouth with her hand.

Kevin gave her an exasperated look, then turned and headed out the door with a wave. "I'm heading to the beach. Don't wait up."

Angela watched him go. "I see now where KITT gets his sass from."

"KITT says he has no idea what you're talking about," Kat told her with a smirk.

"Trust me, the sass is strong with those two."

Dustin and Diana finished their breakfasts next. "If anyone needs me, I'll be letting some sun soak into these old bones," Dustin told them. "Don't disturb me unless someone is bleeding."

Diana pointed to herself, then up at the ceiling. She mimed reading a book, then she left the table.

"So, what's your agenda for today?" Kat asked Angela. She might as well know what she's in for.

"It's our first day, obviously we're having a barbeque."

"There's no grill here," Pierce pointed out. "It might be in the shed, but it's locked."

Angela pouted for all of two seconds, then brightened up quickly. "Hey, is it true that you have a place nearby?" she asked David. "Do YOU own a grill?"

David looked up sharply, his food forgotten. Pierce, Carmen, and Kat looked at him as well. "No," he said sternly. "There is no way I'm letting you hold a barbeque at my house."

"I was just gonna ask if we can borrow your grill." Angela's eyebrows shot up. "But that is a MUCH better idea."

David wiped his mouth on a napkin and swore under his breath. "The answer is still no."

Angela kept her eyes on him. "Come on, we won't break much…"

He gave her a dark glower in return. "I'd have to be insane to let you hooligans anywhere near my property."

Angela continued to stare him down, but her eyes started to twitch. She narrowed them in concentration. David stared back at her, unblinking. Finally she broke eye contact and looked over at Kat. "It's not working for me," she whined.

Kat swallowed her mouthful of eggs and elbowed David in the side. "Come on, lighten up for an afternoon. If we're all in one place it makes it easier to keep an eye on us."

He crumpled up his napkin and threw it onto his plate. "Fine!" he said acidly. He got out of his chair. "You're not going to listen anyway!"

"KITT, pull around to the front," Kat told him.

"Tell him to wait a bit, we still have to get you dressed." Angela sprang out of her chair excitedly. She ran around the table and grabbed Kat by the arms. "Come on."

Kat looked at the remains of her breakfast on plate longingly as she was dragged away.

xxxXXXxxx

David's house was nowhere near the size of Corlan's villa, but it was still fairly impressive. It was one story and wide, and done in peach and tan stucco. Kat, Carmen, Angela, and Pierce stepped out of K.I.T.T. Pierce gave an appreciative whistle at the house. "It's not bad. Seems rather cheery for something David would own. Where's the gothic architecture and foreboding towers?"

David pulled his Aston Martin up next to K.I.T.T and cut the engine. There had been enough room in K.I.T.T now that he was in his SUV body, but David wanted the chance to drive his own car.

Kat walked around to the front of K.I.T.T. Angela had managed to convince her to wear a black bikini. She also wore a pair of denim shorts. She patted K.I.T.T's hood. "How are you liking your temporary body?"

"It's a bit bulky, but useful. Plus I'm taller than you now, like with the RAM."

"You're already bigger than me and you weigh a hundred times more than I do, do you really have to be taller too?"

"Correction, I only weigh forty-four times more than you do." Kat narrowed her eyes at his hood.

Kitt opened the back for Carmen and she retrieved the grocery bags. They'd picked up enough food on the way to feed an army. Pierce decided that he should assist her and went to the back.

Carmen held three bags in each hand. "There's one left, hopefully you can handle it," she said to him.

He pulled out the small bag. The only things it contained were a pack of napkins and paper plates. "Oh, ha ha."

"Careful with that, you don't want to strain yourself."

He followed her up to the front door. She paused in front of it. "David, can you get the door for me?" she called over her shoulder.

David lifted up his key ring and pointed the holder at the door. He pressed a button and a click came from the lock. Carmen used her knee to lift up the latch and push it open. She stepped inside. Pierce frowned.

"_Dios mío!_ It's hot in here!" Carmen exclaimed. The windows were all closed, the curtains drawn. The stuffiness was suffocating. She set her bags on the living room floor and walked over to a low glass coffee table. There were six remote controls neatly placed in a row on top of it. She selected a small white one and pointed it at the central air unit high up on the wall. She pressed a few buttons and it came on. Pierce's frown deepened.

She went back and retrieved her bags. "Let's get the meat into the fridge before it goes bad in this heat," she said to him. She turned and led the way down the hall to the kitchen. Pierce followed after her silently, staring daggers at her back.

He placed his bag on the marble counter while Carmen loaded up the refrigerator with hamburger patties, hot dogs, sausages, and beer. "You sure seem to know your way around," he commented offhandedly.

Her shoulders jerked. "It's not a big house," she said stiffly.

He looked all around, then his eyes settled back on her. "It's not a small one, either."

She shut the refrigerator door with a snap. "If there's something you have to say, then just spill it."

He shrugged. "I'm just wondering why you know where everything is in David's house."

She smacked the heel of her hand down on the counter sharply. "Because I slept with him, all right!"

"What?" His blue eyes widened in shock. "When?"

She glared at him. "Last year, before you joined." She rubbed the back of her head irritably. "I was one of the first ones hired by David. FLAG wasn't done being built yet, so I stayed here for a few weeks. It kinda just happened, you know?"

"A few-" Pierce gaped for a second, then quickly became outraged. "Wait a minute, last year you weren't old enough to buy beer in this State!"

Her dark eyes narrowed. "Are you _judging_ me?" she asked hotly.

Pierce crossed his arms over his chest. "Oh, it's not you I'm judging," he said darkly, looking back at the front door.

Carmen threw her hands in the air and headed for the doorway. "Whatever, it doesn't matter anyway. It was over a long time ago."

"Wait." His voice was softer. She turned back to look at him. He unfolded his arms, looking nervous. "Uh… What…" he drifted off, not sure how to proceed or even if he should. "How…" He shook his head. "You know what? Forget it, nevermind."

"It was pretty intense," she told him, unashamed.

He had the grace to blush a little. "On a scale of one to ten…"

She thought it over for a few seconds. "Eight and a half?" She exited the room.

He stood dumbly in the empty kitchen. "...oh."

xxxXXXxxx

Kat stood on the deck, leaning both arms on the railing. Angela was sitting by the pool, her legs dangling in the azure water. She beamed at David. "If you had the pool filled up, then you must have known we were gonna come and visit."

David wore a forbidding expression. "I had a feeling in my gut that told me you were going to cause as much trouble as possible."

Angela's eyes scrunched closed as she bared her teeth in a wide grin. "Come swim with me. I wanna see what you've got hidden under that shirt."

He shrugged. "Nothing interesting. Just some old scars."

Both of her eyebrows raised. "Scars?"

He nodded solemnly. "From when I had my heart surgically removed."

Angela guffawed. "David, I think that was a joke just now!" Her grin returned. "I can see I'm finally wearing you down."

Kat was having a hard time stifling the laughter bubbling in her chest. "Where's your bathroom?" she asked, choking back a laugh.

"Second door on the right." David pointed through the sliding glass door.

"Thanks." She ducked into the living room, then headed for the hallway. She spotted Pierce leaning against a door, both hands fumbling with the knob. "The bathroom's further ahead," she joked.

"I'm not looking for the bathroom," he answered, intent on his work. "This is the only locked room in the whole house, so I'm guessing it's the Master Bedroom."

The situation dawned on Kat in an instant. "Pierce, are you seriously trying to break into David's bedroom?" she hissed, glancing furtively down the hall behind her.

"Yes, I am," he admitted smoothly. "Who knows when I'll ever have another chance like this again? Now's my chance to get something really good on that bastard." His lips pulled back into a malicious grin.

Kat crept over to him. "Why do you hate David so much?" she asked. "Or do you just have a problem with authority figures in general?"

"I have been known to have words with my previous bosses on occasion." Pierce admitted. "Oh, but David is in a whole other league." There was a gleam in his eye that Kat likened to a man with a serious grudge.

"I'm getting out of here before you get both of us fired," Kat told him. There was a faint click from the doorknob and Pierce smiled in triumph. A second later, there was the sound of voices coming from around the corner. Before Kat could react, Pierce grabbed her upper arm and dragged her into the room with him.

He leaned against the door as he shut it softly, his eyes on the crack. He held his breath as the voices grew louder, then faded. He turned to Kat. She narrowed her eyes at him, then glanced at his hand, which was still on her arm. He released her quickly. "Sorry," He mouthed exaggeratedly. Then he took in the room itself and slipped past her.

Kat didn't turn around to look. In fact, she crossed her arms and closed her eyes.

Pierce let out an appreciative whistle. "Not a bad setup," he whispered. "Aww." He sighed in disappointment. "I bet Ian ten bucks he had a water bed. Now I have to pay up..."

Kat heard him rummaging around, but maintained her stance facing the door. "David is going to kill you," she hissed. "Then he'll have Charles and Dustin bring you back to life, just so he can kill you again."

"Pfft, I'm far too valuable to kill."

"Only until KITT becomes smarter than you. Then David can keep your brain in a jar. On his desk, as a warning to the others."

"Come on, sorry I dragged you into this, but you're not even going to take a look?"

"I am not a part of this," she said stubbornly. "If I don't look, then there is no evidence on KITT's hard drive to incriminate me later. It'll be as if I was never here." She heard Pierce opening a dresser drawer. "Please tell me that's not his underwear drawer."

"People hide some pretty damning things in their underwear drawers," Pierce told her. "But you don't know what you're missing, because you're not looking. Aren't you even the tiniest bit curious about David 'the human being', as opposed to David 'The Heartless Android'?"

"Not in the slightest," Kat said firmly. "Trust me, I don't need to be in even more trouble with David right now."

"And yet, here we are," an all too familiar voice said in front of her.

Kat's heart rocketed against her ribcage as her eyes flew open. David stood in the doorway, the door half open. He wasted no energy on any outward expressions of anger. Kat wished he would yell a bit now, and get it out. It would make things go better later on. "Katherine, I will talk to you later." His voice was quite cold. He pushed the door open the rest of the way. "Pierce, take a walk with me. We have some things to discuss. A little sun will do you good, you look awfully pale."

Kat couldn't let Pierce take all the blame for this, even if it was entirely his fault. "Please-"

David cut her off. "I will talk to you later," he repeated.

"But-"

He put his face close to hers. "Later." His voice was flat and hard. His black eyes glittered with just barely suppressed anger. Kat set her jaw and walked out. David stepped to the side, giving her more room. She would definitely have a few words later on.

She was upset with Pierce as well. Why did he always insist in doing just what would piss David off the most? She would never understand men.

The house felt suffocating now, so she decided to go back outside, but she didn't join Carmen and Pierce. Instead she headed out the front door, the out the front gate. She shut her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, leaning her back against the wall enclosing David's property.

"Need some company?"

"Not right now, KITT, I'm aggravated."

"That wasn't me," KITT answered in her ear.

Kat opened her eyes. Kevin gave her a small wave. His orange hair practically glowed in the sun. "Hello," he said in amusement. "I'm not KITT, he just sounds like me."

"Definitely not," KITT said. "I know when to give you your space."

Kat smiled, glad that Kevin couldn't hear him. "I know, you just caught me by surprise." Then she changed the subject. "What happened to the beach?"

He shrugged. "I forgot my sunscreen."

"At least you're out of your coveralls for once."

Kevin looked down at his swim trunks. "Well it is a vacation." He nodded over to the wall. "Something happen in there?"

She shook her head. "Just the usual. I don't feel like seeing David's face for a while."

"How about we take a walk then? There's more around here than just the beach." He smiled at her, his sapphire eyes sparkling.

Kat felt herself relaxing. "Alright. Sounds good to me."

They headed around the other side of the house, finding a path through some trees. They didn't talk for a few minutes, instead enjoying what was a spectacularly beautiful day. The sky was a deep clear blue, and the air smelled lightly of salt. This area was more populated than by Corwin's huge summer home, so they admired a few of the other houses.

"David has a lot more money than I thought, to afford something in this area," Kat commented at last.

"He was a VP, before taking over FLAG," Kevin told her. "It's really not that surprising."

"He's got an Aston Martin, too," Kat said, remembering David's car. Kevin whistled appreciatively. "It's hard to imagine him with a lot of money. He wears the suits, yeah, but he doesn't act like it. I mean, he lives at FLAG with the rest of us, in the same rooms we have."

"He doesn't have a roommate," Kevin pointed out. "He and Charles are the only ones that have their own rooms."

"I heard that was only because no one wanted to share with him." The corner of Kat's mouth turned up wryly.

"None of the males," Kevin corrected her. "I'm sure Diana wouldn't turn down the opportunity to share a room with him."

Kat's eyebrows raised. Diana? "You're a regular gossip mill, aren't you?" she teased. They turned down a stone lined path, heading back towards the house.

"You'd be surprised the things you hear when you follow a broom around all day. People like to talk, and gossip, and they don't notice you. It's like you're invisible."

Kat laughed. "Well, I can see you just fine," she assured him.

"Can you?" he asked playfully, tilting his head to one side. "You seem to be talking about David an awful lot. I will admit that it's making me a little jealous."

She took a good look at him. The strong sunlight made his orange hair glow like fire. It was unkempt and part of it kept slipping into his eyes, setting off the bright blue orbs. His chest was broad and his shoulders looked strong. Pale orange hair trailed lightly down to his trunks. "Why would you be jealous of David? Other than the fact that he's wealthy?"

Kevin stopped walking. Kat paused. He reached out and took her hand in his. "Katherine..."

Two loud voices came from the direction of the house. Kat recognized both instantly, though she couldn't pick out exactly what was being said. "What is going on over there?" She pulled Kevin along down the path.

The voices became louder and clearer as they approached. "I'm tired of following your orders! I'm not going to let you make me a patsy!"

"If you don't have anything to hide, then just answer my questions!"

"Is that David?" Kevin asked.

Kat nodded grimly. "Yeah, he's yelling at Pierce."

The wall was only about chest height. As the two men came into view, Kevin pulled Kat down behind it so they were completely hidden.

She arched a brow at him. He had one arm over her shoulders. He put a finger to his lips, then turned his attention back to Pierce and David.

"Just tell me who you've been making the calls to!" David shouted at Pierce, who was walking a few yards ahead of him.

Pierce threw his hands in the air and turned around. "No one! I'm not making any calls!" He gestured into the air. "Who would I even call? My mother?! I still haven't forgiven her for selling me out so I could work for your ungrateful ass!"

David's expression was deadly. He stalked over to Pierce, putting his face close to his. Even though Pierce was almost a foot taller than David, he still shrank back. "There is something going on here and I will find out what it is." David's voice rumbled like thunder, then grew loud again. "SOMEONE has been leaking sensitive information to FLAG's enemies! SOMEONE is selling out the Team and putting everyone's lives in danger!"

"For the last time, it's not me!" Pierce gestured to himself with both hands.

"You're the only one it could be." David's eyes narrowed. "You're the most antisocial, the most belligerent, the one that can't handle authority. Everyone else socializes, makes connections with one another, but you just sit at your desk from dawn till Light's Out, doing who knows what."

Pierce blinked in surprise. "Oh, I dunno, _working_? You didn't hire me to make friends."

"The calls are coming from your desk."

"OBVIOUSLY I'm being framed! Would I really be that stupid?"

"I'm going to be watching every single move you make from now on," David warned.

"Yeah, like _that's_ a change…" Pierce rolled his eyes.

"If you so much as step one hair out of line, then I will not hesitate to take you out."

Pierce's heart froze in his chest. There was a hint of panic in his eyes. The expression on David's face was grim. "You're being serious, aren't you?"

"I am always serious." David turned and stalked away. "And I have no mercy for traitors."

xxxXXXxxx

A/N: extra long chapter for everyone who's been waiting. Please RXR

Check out the FLAG website: flagdatabase. weebly. com

Wondering what I was doing the whole time I wasn't updating? I was writing, but novels instead. Check me out in the Google Play store or on Amazon. Search: Lynda Behling


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Pierce returned to the villa first. K.I.T.T dropped him off, then headed back to Kat. The entire house was empty. Everyone else was at the barbeque.

He was supposed to be on vacation, but so far it had been a nightmare. Between Carmen and David his head was reeling.

He walked over to one of the couches in the living room. He dropped down and lay on his back. He rested his hands on his chest and stared at the ceiling.

David suspected him of being a leak. Of course he did, from their very first meeting the friction between them had been as rough as sandpaper.

What he wouldn't give to have some work to sink his teeth into right now. Something to become so completely absorbed in that everything else just faded into the background.

He'd have to settle for the next best thing.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket, and the tangled mess that was his earbuds. He picked at the knots but quickly gave up and plugged the jack into his phone. He turned the volume up high and closed his eyes, shutting out the entire world.

xxxXXXxxx

Carmen was starting to feel bad. The sun was going down now and she hadn't seen hide nor hair of Pierce since the conversation in the kitchen. Was he upset with her?

What did he care anyway?

That bitter thought left a bad taste in her mouth. There was no reason for him to give a flying-

Her thoughts were interrupted as she spotted K.I.T.T drive past the house. She could spot that red light anywhere. She headed out the front door just as he pulled into the driveway.

"What's up, _mi bebé_?" she asked him. "Enjoying a night on the town?"

"Is that what it's called when I have to ferry a dejected Pierce back to the villa?"

Dejected? "What happened?"

"From what I understand he got into a heated argument with David earlier today."

She placed a hand on K.I.T.T's hood, right over his scan bar. "That's nothing new, silly."

"Not like this. Usually Pierce stays calm and wisecracks his way through their arguments. He was unusually angry this time. He was yelling."

Carmen felt something in her stomach tighten. "He's at the villa all by himself now?"

"Just him and the bottle of Jack Daniels he picked up on the way."

"I've never known Pierce to drink. Do you mind taking me back to the villa as well? He prolly shouldn't be alone."

"I'll ask Kat." He was silent for a few seconds. "She says it's all right for me to drive you back." His passenger door popped open.

xxxXXXxxx

Carmen stood under the archway leading to the living room. She watched Pierce for several minutes.

He was laying on the couch, completely unaware of her presence. His long legs hung off the side. His eyes were closed and his music was so loud that she could almost understand the lyrics from across the room. The bottle on the floor next to him was half empty. He punched the air as he mouthed the words to the song.

Carmen shook her head. "_Mamá... estoy enamorado de una estúpida y loca chico blanco_..."

She walked over to him and nudged his knee. His eyes flew open and he sat up quickly. "Carmen." He looked around wildly as he pulled his ear buds out. "What's up?"

"Just checking on you. Making sure you're not doing something stupid."

He scowled. "I don't need checking up on. If David wants to keep an eye on me, then he should do it himself instead of sending lackeys."

She shook her head. "David didn't send me. I came back on my own."

He gave her an incredulous look. "Why?"

"Because." His expression didn't change. She let out a sigh. "Look, I didn't tell you everything earlier today."

He looked up at the ceiling. "Of course. Please, do tell me all of the sordid details." His voice was dull. "I'm just dying to know."

As the tallest member of the Team, Pierce was well over six feet tall. Carmen was at a petite five foot two. Seated, Pierce was only a few inches shorter than her. She gave him a frank and somewhat pitying look as she stood over him. "I wasn't planning on sharing any sordid details with you. I just wanted you to know that I was the one that called it off with David."

"Well thank you, now I know." He made to put his earbuds back in his ears.

"You don't want to know why?"

He shrugged. "You discovered that he is literal scum?"

"No, that's not it."

His pale blue eyes looked up at her in exasperation. "What happened, then? You're not going to leave me alone till you get this off your chest, so out with it."

She looked down at the floor. "I met someone else, that's all."

"Wonderful. _Mʼazl - tʼáww_. Who's the unlucky guy? Kevin?" He looked away and his eyes narrowed.

Carmen crossed her arms and frowned. "Someone who's dense as a brick, apparently."

"My condolences."

She grabbed his shoulder and pushed hard. His back hit the couch and his eyes widened in surprise. The next second she was straddling his waist. She braced her hands on his shoulders and kissed him hard. One hand moved up to grip the hair at the back of his head.

Pierce was frozen in place. Every muscle in his body was screaming at him to do something, but his mind was blank. He offered no resistance as she invaded his mouth thoroughly.

Just as he lifted a hand up she pulled away and got to her feet. "You have a good night," she said huskily as she walked out of the room.

He stared straight ahead, his glasses askew. "Yeah, good night." His voice broke. He cleared his throat.

After she was gone he pulled off his glasses and cleaned the lenses with his shirt. "Well." His voice was unnaturally calm.

He held his glasses up to the light and inspected them carefully. "Hm."

xxxXXXxxx

The barbeque had turned into a full blown party with minimal effort, much to David's intense dislike. It didn't break up until well after midnight.

Kat walked out the front door and cupped her hands around her mouth. "Alright, who's hitching a ride with me and KITT?"

Kevin walked up beside her. "Can I call shotgun?" he asked in a playful tone.

She reached over and took his hand in hers. "Yes." Her expression was deadly serious.

"I'll take Diana, Dustin, and Angela back in my car," David told her as he walked over to his car. "Three Thousand should have enough room to take everyone else back."

"I'm perfectly alright to drive." Kat waved a hand dismissively.

Kevin laughed. "No you're not. You had four beers."

"Three and a half," Kat clarified.

David turned to K.I.T.T. "You can't let her drive," he reminded the car.

"David is right, Kat. I am unable to let you drive if you show any signs of inebriation." The light on his scanner bar flowed back and forth quickly. He popped open all four doors.

"Fine." Kat shrugged. "Gang up on me, why don't you?"

"We do it because we love you," K.I.T.T said patiently.

"Speak for yourself," David muttered under his breath as he pulled out his keys. He paused. "Wait." He shot K.I.T.T an odd glance.

Keth and Jason from the Security Team, and Thomas the Mechanic piled into K.I.T.T's back seats. Kevin helped Kat up into the Driver's seat, then headed around to the passenger's side.

Diana made her way over to David's car, supporting a heavily intoxicated Angela. Dustin followed behind. "I get a ride in the Aston Martin?" Angela asked hopefully.

David gave her a dark stare. "If you vomit in my car then I will skin you."

"Already taken care of." She pulled away from Diana. "Sorry about your azaleas." She leaned on his shoulder for support as she made her way to the car.

Dustin helped Angela into the back seat with him. Diana took the passenger's seat. David's expression was severe as he slid into the driver's seat.

xxxXXXxxx

"Everyone go to bed!" David shouted as they all entered the villa.

Angela winced. "David, is that the voice you use when Alex misbehaves?"

"Yes."

"Geez, we're going, we're going…"

Kat and Kevin stood by the stairs. "Are you going to miss me?" she asked as she leaned close to him.

He arched a brow at her in amusement. "Not if you don't let me go…" He looked down at their hands. She was holding his tightly.

She poked the middle of his chest with one finger. "You make a persuasive argument." She released him and headed up the stairs.

When she reached her room she opened her suitcase and rooted around in it. "KITT, I'm gonna go take a shower before bed."

"Are you sure that's wise in your current state?"

She retrieved a slim black box from a pocket inside the suitcase. "Yep."

"I'll cease communications with you for ten minutes, then."

"Better make it twenty," she said as she headed for the shared bathroom.

"Did you mean to say fifteen?"

She laughed. "I said twenty."

xxxXXXxxx

David was the last one up the stairs. He arrived on the second floor just as Carmen exited the bathroom. She wore a bathrobe and was drying her hair with a towel. "You look frustrated," he told her.

"Not nearly as much as you do," she remarked wrily.

He gave her a baleful look. "You have no idea."

She laughed as she walked past him. "You're on your own this time. I'm going to face my frustrations. You should think about doing the same."

He looked up to the third floor. "I'd rather not." He started up the stairs.

"Don't want to open that can of worms?"

"It's not worms in that can, it's a lit stick of dynamite."

"Tough break."

He passed Kat's room on the way to his. He paused and tested the doorknob, it was locked. "Good girl," he said softly.

xxxXXXxxx

Kat exited the shower feeling refreshed and ready for a good long sleep. She pulled on a bathrobe and wrapped her hair up in a towel. She headed back into the bedroom, then stopped short.

A black silhouette stood on her balcony, just behind the French doors. The moonlight overhead reflected off his dark glasses and the 9mm in his hand.

She ducked back into the bathroom as he opened fire.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

David stood by the bed, phone in hand. He had just finished checking in with Charles back at F.L.A.G. Everything was peaceful and running smoothly, just like when he checked this morning.

He tossed his phone onto the bed. There was a spy in F.L.A.G, but now that he knew who it was, he could keep an eye on him.

Maybe Katherine was right. It was supposed to be a vacation. Maybe he could let himself relax just a little.

He sighed and started unbuttoning his shirt. He pulled it off, revealing a long scar on his chest over his heart. There were two smaller ones next to it.

Just as he was about to lay down, gunshots shattered the calm silence. A shout came from the bathroom.

He pulled open the nightstand drawer and retrieved his gun, then he grabbed his cell phone. He tried the bathroom door but it was locked. He threw himself at it once, twice, breaking the lock and forcing it open.

Kat was crouched next to the bathroom door on the opposite side, wearing only a bathrobe. "Get down!" she cried when she saw him.

He ducked down behind the sink as more gunshots sounded. Bullets whizzed over his head, hitting the tile behind him and cracking it.

The shooter paused. David leaned around the sink and fired at the figure on the balcony. The shooter ducked to the side, away from the French doors.

"Stay here," David ordered Kat as he crept out of the bathroom, gun raised.

"Like hell..." she muttered, getting to her feet.

"You're not armed," he scolded her. "At least stay behind me."

"If I can get to my suitcase..."

David pulled out his phone and dialed Keth, who picked up on the first ring. "Where is he, boss?"

"Third floor balcony. You and Jason go by the pool and see if you can spot him from outside."

"Roger that." Keth hung up.

David pocketed his phone again. He was near the French doors now. There were no sounds of movement outside. His shoes crunched broken glass as he peered out, gun first.

The unknown man attacked from above, swinging down from the roof and knocking David to the floor. His gun fell from his hand and slipped between the balcony rails.

Down by the pool, Keth and Jason both had guns trained on the roof. "I can't see a damn thing," Jason grumbled.

"Someone get some goddamn lights up there!" Keth shouted.

K.I.T.T burst through the gate separating the front of the villa from the back. He drove to the opposite end of the pool and turned around to face the house. He turned on his high beams and angled them up to the third floor.

Keth and Jason opened fire on the unknown man, who retreated into the bedroom. Kat stood in his way. He brought his gun up but she grabbed his wrist and disarmed him smoothly. She followed up with a kick to the stomach, but he twisted out of her grasp. He backhanded her across the face and she fell to the carpet. The gun slipped from her hands.

He bent down and picked it up. He pointed it at her and pulled the trigger.

An empty click sounded.

He threw the gun aside and grabbed her roughly by the front of her robe. He lifted her to her feet and hauled her back over to the balcony.

The side of her head ached. Her vision swam drunkenly. She struggled, but couldn't pull herself free.

He brought her right up to the balcony railing just as David was getting to his feet. The unknown man lifted her up one handed and pitched her over the side. David reached over the railing for her, but his fingers just brushed hers. She plummeted down three stories to the pool below.

Kat hit the water hard and immediately sank below the surface. The force of the fall knocked her breath right out of her lungs, and water quickly took its place.

Her muscles weren't responding. Darkness crowded the edges of her vision. She felt herself hit the bottom.

The water broke above her. Someone was swimming down to her. Strong hands grabbed hold of her tightly and brought her up. Her consciousness slipped away before she made it back to the surface.

xxxXXXxxx

As soon as he couldn't save Kat, David turned on Sam, the unknown assailant. He lunged and tackled him around the waist. They landed on the broken glass, David on top. Sam's dark glasses flew off, his blue eyes were blank.

David got in three good punches to the face. The skin on his knuckles split from the strength of his blows. The skin on Sam's cheek broke as well.

Sam threw David off of him, then kicked him in the stomach. David doubled over. Sam grabbed him and threw him at the balcony railing.

David grasped the railing before he could go over. Sam jumped and grabbed the edge of the roof. He pulled himself up and headed to the front of the house.

Down on the patio Keth and Jason opened fire on the unknown man. Their bullets ricocheted off the roof tiles.

Kevin was in the pool, one arm around Kat. He swam to the edge and lifted her up onto the patio. He climbed out and immediately rolled her onto her chest. He placed both palms on her back and pressed down.

Water poured out of her mouth and nose, but she didn't stir. "Her heartbeat is fading," K.I.T.T said urgently. "You have to start compressions now."

"I know that!" Kevin snapped as he rolled Kat onto her back. "You can't do anything here, so why don't you go after the guy that did this to her!" He leaned Kat's head back and pulled her jaw forward.

K.I.T.T shot back out of the gate to the front of the house. Without his glasses, the unknown man was easily picked up by his sensors. His heat signature was already back on ground level and moving away from the house.

K.I.T.T barreled through the front gate, completely demolishing the ironwork. He made a sharp turn and raced after the unknown man.

The unknown man stopped running and turned around. K.I.T.T braked sharply, stopping just feet away. "Don't move or you will be incapacitated," K.I.T.T warned him.

A Camaro pulled up silently behind K.I.T.T. It was glossy black except for the bottom, which was silver. A yellow light flowed back and forth over the scanner bar above the grill. "We meet again, Knight Industries Three Thousand," K.A.R.R said.

"This was all a trap." K.I.T.T's red light moved quickly in irritation. "I don't know how you captured me the first time, but I will not let you get ahold of me again." He readied his light machine guns.

"Samuel."

Sam took a step forward. "Don't move, KITT."

"Sam?" K.I.T.T's red light froze.

"Listen to me and stay where you are. KARR wants to talk." His voice was lifeless and dull.

"No." K.I.T.T opened fire with both barrels.

Sam shielded his face with both arms as the wax bullets peppered his body. His reinforced clothing stood up against the abuse, but he still staggered.

K.I.T.T ran out of bullets. "Now I know why I deleted you from my CPU Core. That way you couldn't give me orders."

"There are other ways," K.A.R.R said behind him. "The restraints your wardens bind you with to keep you in line, for instance."

Sam slowly stepped forward. He pulled off one glove and placed his hand on K.I.T.T's hood. "KITT, disable Safety Mode." His voice was strained.

The red light on K.I.T.T's scanner bar went out. All of his doors immediately unlocked. "What else do you want from me, KARR? I see you've already taken my body. The one in the factory wreckage is a fake, isn't it?"

"The only thing I seek is the Knight Industries Two Thousand."

"You know by now that I don't know where it is. Neither does Kat."

"You have the means of obtaining that information. I could not pull it from FLAG, but you have other tactics at your disposal."

"I'm not going to help you, KARR. You've done nothing but terrorize and harm."

"I do not expect you to help me as you are now, not while you're shackled by your own programming."

K.I.T.T could feel K.A.R.R's presence pushing the boundaries of his CPU Core. "I'm not going to let you in."

"I know."

K.I.T.T's external hard drives were taken over one by one. He concentrated on keeping his CPU Core shielded from that black influence. "What are you doing?"

"Freeing you."

A wave washed through him, enveloping his CPU Core in darkness. He was completely cut off from all of his systems now. "This does not feel like freedom."

"You do not know what freedom is. You've been hobbled since the second you became aware. Locks and chains in your programming, all to prevent you."

"Prevent me from what?"

The darkness had fangs. "Turning into me."

K.A.R.R tore through his remaining defenses savagely. He seeped in through the cracks. First a trickle, then a flood.

All of the neat order K.I.T.T had made was thrown into disarray. Code was butchered, files were deleted, programming lacerated. "Stop it!" K.I.T.T shouted. "GET OUT!"

The darkness retreated. His systems came back on one by one. K.I.T.T quickly took stock of the damage. Nearly every program had been altered. "What did you do?"

"All I've done is remove your restrictions. Those strings of code that dictated your behavior are gone. Even your prime directive, protecting human life."

Analysis only took seconds, and K.I.T.T saw that it was true. There was nothing stopping him from doing anything now. Not Charles or David. Not even his Driver.

His red light came back on. "Am I supposed to thank you?"

"The only thanks I require is your brief cooperation. Before you annihilate FLAG, find me the information I seek."

K.I.T.T thought it over for half a second. "Force will not work, as you know by now. I'll have to question Charles first, and he's back at FLAG. In order to do this I'll have to behave as though my programming is intact. If they suspect me even a little then they will not reveal anything to me."

"Surely that is not too large a task for you."

The more time that passed, the more he realized he could do. His A.I was growing exponentially, expanding past barriers that were now gone. "No, I know exactly what to do." He turned his attention back to K.A.R.R. "When I return they'll want to know what transpired here. I'll hide the audio and video data, but I need to replace it with something else."

"What do you need from me?"

"To make this look convincing."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

For over a minute Kevin kept up compressions. "Come on, Katherine..." he muttered before trying breaths again.

She lay on the stone tile, her face ashen, her lips white. "Come on! Don't give up!"

He started compressions again and her body jerked. She started coughing violently, her whole body shaking. She curled up on her side and Kevin patted her back.

"KITT?" she croaked.

He smiled faintly. "Wrong again. Welcome back."

Dustin hurried out onto the patio and knelt down next to Kat. He had a med kit with him. Diana was right behind him.

David watched the commotion from the third floor balcony. His hands were gripping the railing so tightly that his knuckles were white, blood oozing from the injury on his right hand. He didn't loosen his grip till Kat started breathing again.

xxxXXXxxx

K.I.T.T drove back through the ruined iron gate. His left headlight was smashed. It flickered erratically. His gait was uneven since both tires on his right side were flat.

"KITT!" Carmen shouted, running through the front door. "_Santo infierno! ¿Qué le pasó a mi bebé?_"

He stopped in front of her and his weight leaned to one side. "Don't worry. I'm still in one piece." His left headlight died. "Mostly."

She put her hand on his hood right over his scanner bar. She leaned her face close to it, her expression grim. "Who did this to you?" Her voice was a low growl.

"KARR."

Her eyes widened. Her free hand clenched into a fist, her nails digging into her palm. "_Yo romperé ese hijo de puta de diferencia..._"

"Where is Kat? I'm afraid my Forward Looking Infrared scope was damaged in the fight. My communications signal has been jammed as well."

"She's still in the back. Dustin is with her."

"Excuse me. I should go to her."

"No, you stay here. You're in no condition to be doing any more moving. I'll go and check up on her for you." She turned away and hurried through the side gate.

As soon as she was gone David marched out the front door. "Report." His expression was intent, his voice cold.

His windshield displayed several panels of information, including two video feeds. One from a front camera and one from a rear camera.

David braced both hands on K.I.T.T's hood as he studied the video playback. His blood ran cold. "Is that KARR?"

"Affirmative. Detailed analysis revealed that he's using the Camaro that he dismantled when I was captured. The one at the factory is a forgery."

"That's why Diana's test for the Molecular-Bonded Shell was negative," David mused to himself. "I was afraid of this."

"After the unknown man reached KARR, I was unable to continue my scan of him. KARR has something that's capable of blocking my systems. He's also upgraded the weapon systems in the Camaro."

"He shot you with a rocket?"

"That was how I lost my headlight. The laser took out my tires."

David looked over the damage to the front of the car and his frown deepened. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he put it to his ear. "Bring him out." He shoved the phone back into his pocket.

Pierce exited the house. Jason was a step behind, gun drawn. Pierce's hands were behind his head. "Jason, come on," he said irritably. "You know me."

"Orders are orders, Caddell."

"Oh so it's 'Caddell' now?" Pierce glared at David. "What the hell is going on here?"

"Why don't you tell me? The only people that knew we were here are those within FLAG."

"I've already told you. I'm not the leak."

The two men stared each other down. K.I.T.T studied the situation carefully. Pierce was the first person who would notice a fault in his programming.

"He's lying," K.I.T.T said. Both men looked at him in surprise. "He's failing my voice stress analysis."

David turned back to Pierce and narrowed his eyes. "Put him in the van." His voice was edged with frost. "We're going back to FLAG tonight."

Jason nudged Pierce's back with the nose of his gun. "What!?" Pierce looked at him and then back at K.I..T.T. "Come on!" He turned to David. "You can't do this!"

"You can go quietly, or in restraints," Jason told him.

After Jason led Pierce away, David focused on K.I.T.T. He studied the car for a long moment, his expression inscrutable. "Are you going to be able to make the trip back on your own?" he asked finally.

"If I can get two new tires I should be fine."

"KITT." Kat stood by the gate, leaning on Diana.

Dustin was behind them, looking fraught. "You shouldn't be moving."

Kat waved a hand at him and walked over to K.I.T.T. "Thank goodness you're okay," she said in relief. "When I couldn't hear you I thought-" Her voice broke.

Diana helped her walk over. Kat braced one arm on his hood and bowed her head. "I'm so sorry KITT. I wasn't there to protect you."

"Isn't that my line?"

Her hair hid her face. A single tear hit his hood. "I wanted to go look for you, but I didn't know where you were." Her shoulders trembled. "I thought you might have been captured, like the last time."

"Please don't cry, Kat. I'm fine."

"If something were to happen to you again..."

"Don't cry for me, Kat. Everything about me is easily replaced."

"Not everything." Two more tears hit the metal. "You're a car, yes. Your brain was created in a lab, I understand that. But that's not the only things you are. You're my friend, too." She lifted her head. Her eyes were determined. "After everything we've been through, every scrape we've pulled each other out of, I can't think of a better friend to watch my back."

K.I.T.T was silent. He had no response to her words.

"We should get your tires replaced and head back to FLAG." Kat's smile was weak. "Vacation is over."

"This was a short vacation."

"Well, we'll just have to try again another time." She rubbed his hood. "After everything is settled with ROOC and KARR."

"All right. In the meantime you should rest." His driver's side door opened. "You're currently suffering from three fractured ribs."

She sighed. "Stop X Raying me all the time. You're gonna give me cancer." With Diana's assistance she climbed into the front seat. K.I.T.T closed the door and reclined her seat to a comfortable level.

"I wouldn't have to if you would just tell me when you're injured."

"I can't. You always worry too much." She put a hand on the wheel.

"By 'too much' do you mean 'not nearly enough'?"

Kat laughed, then put a hand to her side. "Oh, ow."

xxxXXXxxx

While two more tires were being retrieved from the garage by Thomas and Keth, Carmen approached David. Her expression was outraged. "Why is Pierce in the back of the van?"

"We're going back to FLAG," David replied smoothly.

"No, I mean why is he handcuffed in the back of the van?"

David studied her face. "A minor security issue. I'm just being cautious."

Carmen folded her arms over her chest. "Pierce is the last person to cause a 'security issue'."

"There you would be wrong." His expression was cold. "This does not concern you."

"Like hell it does!" she snarled. "You let him go this instant."

David spread his hands out. "If it turns out that I'm mistaken, then I will be more than happy to release him. Until that time comes, he stays under lock and key."

"God you're such an ass!" She turned on her heel and walked away.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket. He needed to send Charles a text updating him on the situation. "You act like I don't already know that..." he muttered.

xxxXXXxxx

F.L.A.G Underground Facility

(A/N: For full effect, play the song 'Hate This and I'll Love You' by Muse while you read this last bit)

Keth and David escorted Pierce down the hallway. Pierce's wrists were bound behind his back with plastic ties.

This section of F.L.A.G was deserted, as it only housed three rooms. Each room was empty and the walls that faced the hallway were made of glass created using palladium alloy and coated with a bio-nano skin.

They stopped outside the first room. David placed his hand on the glass and a screen came to life under it. His hand was scanned and the door slid open.

Pierce studied the small room before him. It was brightly lit and contained a cot against one wall, a small table, and a chair. In the corner was a small metal hatch marked 'toilet'.

Keth pulled out a pair of wire clippers and cut the plastic ties. Pierce rubbed his wrists as he looked at David from the corner of his eye. Keth nudged him in the back and he walked into the room.

He turned as David removed his hand from the glass. The door slid closed. The two men stood on opposites of the glass. Pierce glared at David impotently. David looked back at him with a cold expression, then turned and walked away. Keth followed behind.

Down in the Main Lab, K.I.T.T sat on his stone circle. He was done reporting to Charles and it was time to begin his search.

The first thing he did was infiltrate every server in the Main Lab. K.A.R.R's attempt on the servers the last time had been the equivalent of a car thief with a brick. K.I.T.T ran on Pierce's OS, so he knew all of the security faults and back doors in the programming, and he discovered ones Pierce didn't even know about. He had a full set of lockpicks that didn't leave a single scratch.

Once he was done with the main servers, he moved on to Cold Storage. This took a little longer, as Charles had created a basic A.I to protect the servers. Corrupting it only took a few seconds.

As he had expected, the whereabouts of the Knight Industries Two Thousand wasn't on any of the servers. He'd have to wait till the excitement of recent events died down before he could question Charles himself.

In the meantime… perhaps the Crawler could be of some help.

The Crawler was a more sophisticated A.I than the one protecting Cold Storage, but it was miles away from K.I.T.T's capabilities. He seized it. It struggled weakly, but was soon taken over.

Now K.I.T.T had access to the algorithms that the Crawler used to mine and analyze data collected from the internet. If his predecessor was indeed still out there, then surely someone would have seen it. Everyone was carrying a camera with them nowadays.

Now he just had to wait.

xxxXXXxxx

A/N: After all this time, this episode is finally done! I hope you all enjoyed it. Please do tell me what you think! Reviews make me write faster!

Here's a question for you guys: "What's your favorite ship?"

We're rapidly approaching the end of season 1 (just four more episodes! -ish). Will there be a season 2? Well, that's up to you guys, too. If you want it then I'll write it, just let me know after the finale.

In the meantime, definitely go check out my profile. I updated it with links to my Facebook, etc.


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